Olivia and the Great Escape (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Olivia clapped mechanically as the two children on stage finished singing to huge cheers from the back of the Cavendish Hall, where their families were sitting. She’d barely registered the song. She’d been too busy turning over what had happened to Jack in her mind and trying to see if there was something she’d missed. Aeysha had said she wouldn’t mind if Olivia hadn’t felt like coming to the song contest finals, but Olivia had promised to support her friend and she wasn’t going to go back on her word now, especially as Tom hadn’t been able to make it either.

The children who had just finished singing were propelled towards the front of the stage by the show’s host to face the judges, who were sitting at the front of the auditorium behind a
long table. One of the judges started talking about the song and what had impressed her and the things that the songwriters might do to make it even better. Another talked earnestly about key changes and technical stuff that was a complete mystery to Olivia.

She looked at the clock on her phone. It was lucky that Aeysha was the second contestant of the sixteen finalists, or Olivia would be late for the
Dream
rehearsal at Campion’s. She had had to stuff her costume into her rucksack together with the high-wire that Sebastian Shaw had asked her to bring along for an idea he wanted to try out. She’d positioned herself at the end of a row near an exit so that after Aeysha had sung her song, and the judges had said their piece, she would be able to slip quietly away.

Aeysha appeared on stage and sat down on a chair with her guitar. Olivia could tell that she was really nervous because she always flicked her hair when she was anxious. The judges gave the signal and Aeysha began playing.

Olivia recognised the song immediately. It was the one she had heard Aeysha playing to Kasha. She’d obviously been working on it
further because it was different, more subtle and layered. It was interesting, thought Olivia, the way Aeysha had taken one thing and by just changing a few notes had transformed it into something else.

She guessed that’s what art was, a constant borrowing and changing. She’d read enough Shakespeare to know that he seldom made up his own plots, but borrowed them from other writers. Some might call it stealing, but Olivia knew that it was taking inspiration. She listened to the end of the song and smiled. In this instance it was as if Aeysha had stolen from herself, taking what she had originally written and making it into something new and better.

The applause was very loud and very appreciative. It wasn’t just Aeysha’s family who were making a racket. Everybody in the hall was aware they had heard something special. Olivia clapped as hard as she could, delighted that her friend had set the bar so high for all the other contestants. Olivia didn’t know much about music but she felt certain that Aeysha’s song would be the one that everyone else would have to beat.

Aeysha moved to the front of the stage, ready to receive the judges’ comments. The first one said how refreshing it was to hear a song that was genuinely original, and that he’d never expected to hear a song of that calibre in the competition. He thought that, if she wanted it, Aeysha had a promising future ahead of her as a songwriter.

As he was speaking, Olivia could see one of the other judges bobbing up and down at the end of the table as if she were agitated about something.
Lucie Groves
was the name written on the place card in front of her. The next judge started to give her comments. “I agree with everything that has been said,” she said. “This is a truly original piece of work…”

“Actually,” interrupted Lucie Groves, standing up. “I must intervene. I can’t listen to this any more. I
know
this song. Well, something very like it. I don’t think this song is original at all.”

Aeysha had gone a deep red colour. “I’m not sure what you’re suggesting, Lucie,” said the head of the judges. “Do you mean that this child is pretending to have written this song?”

Lucie Groves looked embarrassed. “Maybe
we should discuss this in private,” she said, glancing at an increasingly tearful Aeysha.

But at the moment, Aeysha chose to speak. “You think I’ve copied it from someone!” she cried, desperately. “But I wrote it, I promise I did.”

The whole hall was buzzing and the judges were all talking to each other. “It’s my song,” said Aeysha. “I would never steal somebody else’s work.”

Aeysha’s mother rushed up on to the stage and glared at the panel like a lioness protecting one of her cubs. She held the sobbing Aeysha in her arms. “My daughter is not a cheat,” she said, with quiet dignity.

“I’m making no accusations,” said Lucie Groves. “But I know this song, or something very like it. That very distinctive part in the chorus, the bit that makes it so original.”

“How do you know for certain?” asked one of the other judges.

“Because I am Kasha Kasparian’s record producer,” said Lucie Groves, “and something very similar is on his as yet unreleased album, which nobody except me and a very few people have even heard yet.”

Olivia gasped, and thought back to the day when she had heard Aeysha play Kasha the song at the Swan. She knew what she had heard and she knew for certain that the song was Aeysha’s, or at least ninety per cent Aeysha’s. It wasn’t Aeysha who had stolen the song from Kasha but the other way round.

She suddenly remembered the missed calls from Kasha and how she’d thought there was something odd about his voice saying he wanted to talk to her.

The judges were conferring. They turned to the audience. “We’re going to take a short break to try and sort this out. Please bear with us.”

They walked up the short flight of steps on to the stage and ushered Aeysha and her mother towards the wings. Aeysha kept repeating tearfully: “I didn’t steal it. I’d never do anything like that.”

“Wait!” cried Olivia. The judges on the stage turned back towards her expectantly. “I know that Aeysha didn’t steal the song. I’ve heard her sing it before. I heard her sing it to—”

Olivia was about to say Kasha’s name but Aeysha interrupted her. “No, Livy. You can’t have heard it before.”

Everyone looked at her.

“That’s pretty much an admission of guilt,” said Lucie Groves, with an unexpected gentleness in her voice. “I don’t know how you got hold of the song but…” She suddenly hit her forehead. “Of course! Kasha said that he was doing some songwriting workshops, it must have been when he was writing his song.” She looked at Aeysha. “Did you go to those? That must be where you heard it and copied it.”

“These things do happen,” said one of the judges kindly. “You hear something, store it in your subconscious and then you write pretty much the same thing without realising what you are doing. Maybe that’s what happened, dear?”

“No!” cried Olivia. But everyone ignored her.

“Perhaps,” said one of the other judges, “we could get a copy of Kasha Kasparian’s song and compare the two.”

“Or you could just ask Kasha,” said Olivia, hotly. “Aeysha isn’t lying. It is her song. I know it is.”

The judges ignored her again and ushered Aeysha and her mum away. As they left the stage Olivia heard Lucie say: “I have to protect
my…”

The hall was in uproar. Olivia went over to the rest of Aeysha’s family who were shaking their heads in disbelief. “Our Aeysha would never steal anything,” said her dad, looking close to tears himself.

“I know that,” said Olivia, “and you know that. We’re just going to have to make the judges believe it, too.”

Chapter Thirty

Georgia and Alex were on the top of the bus together on their way to Campion’s for a rehearsal of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
. They had just been to the zoo in Regent’s Park and had had a brilliant time. Alex had impersonated the chimpanzees, and he had listened attentively to everything that Georgia had said. They had eaten ice creams and, when Georgia had suggested that they go to the reptile house, Alex had confessed that he was scared of snakes. He had taken Georgia’s ribbing with enormous good humour. It was odd, thought Georgia, there was something different about him. Something softer and less confident. The bus stopped to allow people to get off.

“Georgia,” said Alex, and his voice was so
tentative that Georgia’s heart lurched. She looked at him warily. Something about his serious expression made her think he was about to say something important, maybe something she didn’t want to hear. She smiled encouragingly, but her heart was thudding. Was he going to say that he wanted to break up?

“I just wanted to say that I had a really brilliant time today, Georgia,” he said.

“Me, too,” said Georgia.

“I really like being with you.”

Georgia felt her stomach fizz. “I like being with you, too, Alex,” she said.

Then, suddenly, his expression changed. “If only you knew, Georgie. I’m not a nice person. I’ve done some pretty awful things.”

Georgia looked at him anxiously. Her encounter with Aeysha flashed across her mind. Had he lied to her?

“What do you mean?” she asked, but then she heard Connor’s voice behind them.

“Hello, Georgie,” he said, and then rather more coolly: “Hi Alex.”

The moment was lost. Alex felt for her hand on the seat between them and squeezed it hard. But his face was full of regret.

Olivia climbed through the little window of the toilet. She’d tried to get backstage through the stage door but had been turned away. She knew she had to talk to Aeysha.

She’d already tried ringing and texting Kasha several times, but there had been no reply. She had left him a series of increasingly curt messages, telling him what was going on. Olivia scrambled off the windowsill and cautiously opened the door of the bathroom. She quickly closed it again as she saw the judges come out of a dressing room and start to walk down the corridor towards the stage. She waited until they had disappeared into the wings and then she slipped down the corridor and into the room she had just seen them leave.

Aeysha was sitting in front of the
make-up
mirror weeping and being comforted by her mum. Olivia walked swiftly over to her friend and hugged her tight. Mrs Aziz smiled at her and said that as Livy was there, she would go back to the auditorium to check on her husband and the rest of the family.

“I don’t understand why you don’t tell them the truth,” said Olivia to Aeysha. “Tell them
that it’s your song. I know it is. I’m a witness to that. I was outside the room that day. I heard you play a version of your song to Kasha. I also know that Kasha was blocked. He had to write one last song for his album and he couldn’t do it. So that’s why he must’ve stolen your song out of desperation. You must tell them.”

Aeysha raised her head. “I can’t do that, Livy. Don’t you see? It would completely destroy Kasha’s reputation. He’s got everything to lose. If it came out that he had taken the song, his career would be over. I can’t do that to him. I couldn’t live with myself.”

“But Aeysha, what about
you
? I won’t let you do this. It’s insane. Everyone would think that you were a thief, and how would that make your mum and dad feel? It’s too awful to contemplate.”

Aeysha just shook her head sadly. “I know. But I just can’t do it, Livy.”

Olivia tried to get Kasha again. No answer. “I wish I knew where he is so we could at least talk to him.”

“Haven’t you seen the pictures in the paper of all the screaming girls outside the de Wilde hotel? He’s holed up there before his tour
starts next week.”

“Oh really?” said Olivia. “Right, then, I’m going to get him.”

“No, Livy,” said Aeysha. “Don’t do this.”

But Olivia was already out of the room. Aeysha put her head down on the dressing-room table. She knew that Olivia was on a
wild-goose
chase. She’d never get anywhere near Kasha.

Olivia pressed the button on her phone again. And once again, the call went straight to voicemail.

“It’s Kasha, I’m busy. Leave a message!” said Kasha’s voice.

She sighed loudly and checked the time. She would have to miss the
Dream
rehearsal but this was more important. She guessed everyone would think she’d blown it out because of what was happening to Jack.

She ran all the way to the tube, got on and then got off two stops later. She ran all the way up the escalator and passed through the ticket barriers into the street. She looked at the map on her phone and set off at a jog.

She heard the noise long before she
reached the hotel. Crash barriers had been set up all around the entrance and hundreds of girls were leaning over then excitedly. Some of them were screaming, which Olivia thought was particularly silly as there was no sign of anything or anyone to scream at.

Every now and again a girl would make a rush for the entrance of the hotel only to be pushed back again gently by one of the many security guards who were gathered around the door. Olivia watched the scene, quite astonished by the passion of the girls, several of whom were holding up large pictures of Kasha.

She tried his number again, but there was still no answer. There was nothing for it, she would just have to blag her way into the hotel. She took a deep breath and started walking towards the entrance. A path had been cleared between two crash barriers that had been set up to keep Kasha’s fans at bay. She tried to look as confident as possible, but inside she felt like a wobbly jelly. Several of the girls behind the crash barriers watched her with undisguised interest. But she hadn’t got very far when two burly security guards stepped in front of her.

“Can we help you, miss?” asked one.

Olivia thought quickly. “My aunt,” she said. “She’s staying here.”

The men considered her. “And what would your aunt’s name be, miss?” asked one, producing a clipboard with a long list of names. He was obviously going to check that she was telling the truth.

Olivia hesitated just a fraction too long. “Brown,” she said. “Her name is Belinda Brown.”

The man looked down the list. He smiled kindly at her. “Nice try, love, but we’re not going to fall for that one.”

“Listen,” said Olivia urgently, “I’ve got to get into the hotel. I’ve got to see someone. It’s a matter of life and death.”

The men looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. “Would this someone be called Kasha Kasparian, by any chance?” said the taller of the two, looking amused.

“Look,” said Olivia. “I’m from the school Kasha went to before he was famous. I know him. He’s a friend. He’ll want to see me. I know he will.”

The shorter of the two men laughed and
waved an arm at all the shrieking girls. “They all say that. They’re all Kasha Kasparian’s best friend.”

“But this is different. I really do know him. Look!” She got out her phone and scrolled down her contacts. She jabbed her finger at Kasha’s name. “Look! It’s his number.”

The men shook their heads. “In your dreams, love,” said the tall one.

Olivia knew it was no good. She would never talk her way past these men. Suddenly she made a break for the hotel entrance, hoping desperately that if she could only just get inside she would be able to find her way to Kasha’s room. She nimbly side-stepped a security guard who was coming towards her with his arms outstretched. Applause went up from the crowd. It spurred her on and she had almost made it to the revolving door when she was grabbed, lifted off her feet and passed over the crash barrier into the crowd of girls.

She felt tears tickle at the back of her eyes. She knew she was being silly, and even if she
had
made it inside the hotel, she didn’t have a clue where she would find Kasha. She wasn’t just going to bump into him. She might just as well
give up and go to rehearsal. She couldn’t help Aeysha clear her name any more than she could help her dad. She was a complete failure.

The two girls she was standing by eyed her sympathetically. “That was amazing, you almost made it,” said one of them.

Olivia sniffed, and the other girl handed her a clean tissue.

“I’m Imy, and this is Gem.”

“We understand just how you feel,” said Gem, “it’s so hard being so close to him but so far, too. I know that if he realised how much we cared, he’d come and see us. He’d realise that we’re his real fans, that we’re not like all the others, that we really love him.”

Olivia looked at Imy and Gem’s fresh, shining faces. When she had arrived outside the hotel and seen the girls, she had dismissed them as idiots and obsessives. But there was something about their fervor that was touching.

It made her think of Georgia when she had been pining after Alex. And at least Alex had been real; these girls were hankering after something unattainable. The closest they might ever come to Kasha was a scrawled autograph or a touch of the fingertips.

She wondered if Kasha had any inkling how much he meant to them, how big he loomed in their lives, how grateful he ought to be for the passion and love that they poured into him because without them he would be nothing.

“How long have you been waiting outside the hotel?” she asked curiously.

“Since Friday after school,” said Imy and Gem together proudly.

They saw Olivia’s surprised face. “Oh,” said Gem simply. “You do anything for love. Real love. Kasha is worth it.”

“Do you sleep here?” asked Olivia astonished.

Imy and Gem shook their heads. “We’d like to, but our parents won’t let us. Imy’s dad is the building manager in the office block at the back of the hotel. He drops us off in the morning and picks us up when he leaves in the evening.”

Imy looked at Gem. “Shall we show her?” Gem nodded and Imy opened her mobile phone and showed Olivia a photo.

At first Olivia couldn’t work out what it was, but then she realised that it was the back of the hotel. The photo showed one particular balcony, high up on the fifth floor.

“That’s it,” said Imy, dreamily. “That’s his room.”

“How do you know?” asked Olivia.

“Yesterday, my dad let us come up to his office, and while we were there Kasha briefly appeared on the balcony. He looked so sad. We weren’t quick enough to get a pic of him, but now we know which room he’s in. We’re the only ones who do.”

“But if all you want is a glimpse of him, and his room’s round the back, what are you doing waiting out the front?” asked Olivia.

“He’s got to come out this way at some point,” answered Gem. “The road round the back is blocked off. We can’t get close round the back, anyway. The place is crawling with security guards checking anyone who goes in or comes out of the building. If you try to go anywhere near the back, they just shoo you this way.”

Olivia suddenly had a mental image of young girls being herded like sheep by shaggy sheepdog security guards.

“We’re the lucky ones,” sighed Imy. “We’ve seen the actual room he’s in. Where he sleeps, and everything. I wanted Dad to let us stay in
his office all day, but he said he’d get the sack if his boss caught us there.”

“If we’d stayed in that storeroom, though, nobody would ever have known we were there,” said Gem. “We could’ve watched in case he came out on to the balcony again.”

“What storeroom?” asked Olivia, quickly.

“There’s a storeroom with a little window that looks almost directly on to Kasha’s balcony. If he came out, you’d be just a few metres away. You might even be able to speak to him!” Imy’s eyes were shining.

“Imy,” said Olivia urgently, “do you think you could get me inside your dad’s building and show me the storeroom?”

Imy looked anxious. “Well, I could, ’cos the security guard on the desk downstairs knows me and he’d let me in. But I wouldn’t want to get my dad into trouble or anything.”

“If we’re clever about it,” said Olivia, “nobody will ever know we’ve been there. Please, Imy, this is really important.”

“OK,” said the girl. “I can tell you’re a true fan, like us. That you really love Kasha. But it can only be a quick look, just for a few minutes.”

“I’ll only need a few minutes,” said Olivia,
with a smile. She looked at them. “And if my plan works, I promise that you too will get to meet Kasha Kasparian.”

Imy and Gem’s faces lit up with pure joy.

“Come on, then!” said Imy.